Pacific Lifestyle Homes Blog

Weather your Pacific Lifestyle Home is brand new or tried and true, painting a room or a wall can instantly change to tone and energy in a room and is one of the simplest ways to redecorate your home.

Below are a few handy tips we’ve compiled for picking the right color palette for your home.

Think about how you use the room.

• Consider deep colors for rooms used primarily at night such as dining rooms or rooms where you watch TV.
• Look to light colors for spaces flooded with daylight, this will reduce eyestrain caused by strong contrasts.
• Opt for skin-flattering, subtle colors for the main bathroom.

Effectively test your paint colors.

• Pick up large paper color swatches, available at paint stores, or paint canvas squares.
• Hang test squares against the trim and then paint a small length along the trim so you can view the colors together.
• Keep competing palettes on different sides of the room and observe all your options at various times of day.

Consider the view.

• When painting an enclosed room, anything goes, however when adding color to a space that connects to rooms such an entry, consider the adjoining rooms as well. If, say, your living room opens into the dining room, pick a living room shade that complements the existing dining room walls or plan to paint the dining room the same color.

Expect the unexpected.

• If you’re making a big change, even thorough testing won’t completely prepare you for the results, be open to surprises and happy accidents and realize while

Bathroom vanities are very handy and are ideal for storage. You can use them to store shampoo bottles, bar soaps, and cosmetics, and they are perfect for keeping towels, shaving items, and cleaning supplies organized. Vanities should beautify your bathroom space, but many individuals keep their vanities cluttered, which can make bathrooms look unsightly. Reorganizing your vanity is the best way to eliminate clutter and enhance the look of your bathroom.

1.  Keep the surface of your vanity clean and clear. Start by placing all of the items on your vanity’s surface in a large box, and clean your vanity counter thoroughly. This will give you a fresh starting point, which helps you to visualize how you want to organize this space. If your bathroom vanity is small, place no more than two or three items on its surface once it’s clean, and only choose items that you use daily. Double bathroom vanities are large enough to hold many items, but you should still avoid overcrowding this space to prevent future clutter.

2. Clear out your vanity’s drawers and cabinets, and use plastic containers to organize similar items. Plastic containers come in a variety of sizes and are convenient for storage. Small containers can be used to store loose items that get misplaced easily, such as makeup, hair accessories, and razors. Use large containers to store hair products, blow-dryers, and towels. Keeping similar items together will make it easy for you to find the items you need and is the best strategy for keeping the inside of your vanity neatly arranged.

3. Use drawer dividers to separate your items, or place removable shelves inside of your vanity. Drawer dividers come in all sizes and can easily be placed inside of your vanity’s cabinets and draws to keep your small and large containers separate. Removable shelves are held in place with small nails or suction cups and are perfect for storing containers of all sizes. These shelves can easily be removed if you need to store a tall item such as a plunger. When you use dividers and shelves to keep your vanity’s enclosed space organized, you are less likely to clutter your vanity’s surface.

4. Make use of the free space under and next to your bathroom vanity. Use decorative baskets that match the color of your bathroom vanity to store items that you use while bathing, particularly if the space inside of your vanity is small. For example, sitting a decorative basket between vanities and walk-in bathtubs not only makes vanities look larger but also makes it easier for individuals to grab the items they need while bathing.

5. Keep new and used items separate. It is not uncommon for individuals to have the inside of their vanities cluttered with old, outdated products. The best way to avoid this is to separate your newly purchased items from your used items. When sorting through the items you removed from your vanity, discard anything that has expired and any empty bottles you find. When reorganizing your vanity, place the open items you plan to use in separate containers, and label each container to make these items easy to locate.

Miguel Salcido is an avid blogger, father of 2, and recent proud homeowner. He loves studying architecture, home design and decor. He plans to one day buy a house plan to build his dream home with a walk in bathtub.

Check out the deal of the week at Pacific Lifestyle Homes: a beautiful four bedroom home with a main floor den is move-in-ready! Originally listed for $298,900 this 2,620 square foot home home is now $269,900. We love the large windows that bring nature right into the home and the kitchen island that overlooks both the dining room and the great room (which also features a stunning gas fireplace). With spring approaching, you”ll enjoy the oversized deck right off the kitchen with territorial views of Mt. Hood and the Columbia River Gorge, and the fully-landscaped and fenced yard. The impressive main floor den can be transfored into a welcoming guest suite, with a full bath so your friends and family can enjoy your home too. Visit this home at 2062 35th Street in Washougal, WA or call our office at 866.800.8180 for more details.

See more details of the house on our website at the bottom right corner of our site.

1. R2X stain and soil resistant and offer a patented treatment, 5 year limited warranty against soiling and liquid spills
2. Quality assured and have a 10 year Quality Assurance Warranty, free of manufacturing defects for 10 years
3.  FHA approved

Great news just in from the Home Builders Association (HBA) of Metropolitan Portland. In a press release the HBA announced that Portland was added to a national list of improving housing markets!  For those of you who wants some more details, here are the highlights from the HBA announcement:

• In February, the list of housing markets showing measurable improvement expanded by 29 metros for a total of 98 entries on the NAHB/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI).
• To make the IMI, metro areas must show six consecutive months of improvement in housing permits, employment and house prices.
• Oregon markets are showing significant improvement for a housing recovery in 2012.
• Local housing inventory levels are below a six month’s supply and housing demand is growing.
• A 1.9% improvement in house prices is projected for 2012.
• Between December 2010 and December 2011 the RMLS Market Action Report showed a 6% rise in pending sales and 4% increase in closed sales.

This news and sunshine – what a perfect way to kick off February.

Whether you need a home built according to a full set of custom home plans or just a few rooms repainted after years of neglect, you will probably find it pays to use a contractor rather than to do the work yourself. Many homeowners avoid contractors due to cost, but contractors are very open to negotiations, and you can save quite a bit of money once you know how to negotiate with a building or home-improvement contractor.

First of all, do not hire the cheapest contractor you can find. The cheapest contractors are, as a rule, also the least experienced and the least well-funded. Make sure to find out whether any particular job requires the use of a licensed contractor, and if so, make sure the contractor you hire has a valid license. Otherwise, you risk legal penalties that can cost you more than the fees a reliable licensed contractor charges for your original home plan.

Get recommendations from neighbors, and check with the Better Business Bureau, your local consumer protection authority, and online review sites to make sure there are no serious complaints against the contractor whose services you are considering.

Next, decide on at least three reliable contractors and get bids from each one. Compare the bids carefully to make sure they cover the same scope and quality of work before you decide to pursue any one of them further. Do not be afraid to contact the contractor for more information about any part of any bid. Never leave repairs to the last minute, as you will then be confronted with an emergency situation that will change your position as far as negotiations are concerned.

Once you have selected a reliable and properly certified contractor for the task at hand, you should remember that it is a customer’s market and negotiate accordingly. Put down as little money as possible at the beginning of the job, and make sure that the contractor agrees to meet certain milestones before any further payments are made.

Try to be at home when the work is being done, or have someone who understands home remodeling present in order to check the work and the quality of the materials being used during the course of the job. If you have agreed on certain brands of materials that have warranties, do not let the contractor begin work until you have received the warranty documents for the materials.

Finally, make it clear that you have the right to have an outside inspection done before you make any final payment or sign off on any completed work. At the very least, make sure to thoroughly test and inspect the contractor’s work yourself before you agree to consider it complete.

Miguel Salcido is an avid blogger, father of 2, and recent proud homeowner. He loves studying architecture, home design, decor and house plans. He plans to one day buy a modern house plan to build his dream home.

Several years ago we were lucky enough to start working with  A & J  Custom Cabinets. A & J makes exceptional cabinets for all Pacific Lifestyle Homes, just check out their beautiful, quality cabinets on their Facebook page or stop by our showroom to see them for yourself. Another great thing about A & J is that they’re local and based out of Vancouver, Wash., just like Pacific Lifestyle Homes. https://www.facebook.com/AJCustomCabinets

I don’t know about you, but we at Pacific Lifestyle Homes believe that living in a great neighborhood is one of the most important considerations when buying a home. It’s also likely your home’s layout ranks pretty high. We have more than 50  floor plans, allowing you to choose the right home for your lifestyle so you can find exactly the house that fits your unique needs. Check out some of these floor plans at Kemmer Crest Estates in Beaverton, OR or on our website.

As proud members of the Portland Metro Home Builders Association (HBA), one of our biggest annual events, the Portland Spring Home and Garden Show, is coming to the Portland Expo Center February 22-26, 2012. Each year the show features a beautiful display of showcase gardens as well as great resources for your home. For more information check it out at here.